Intercessory Prayer

Scripture: Psalm 20 (MSG)

Illustration: I Need You To Survive by Hezekiah Walker

Meditation: Today’s text helps us understand the practice of intercessory prayer. This is a form of prayer where students of Jesus intercede in prayer on behalf of others. The writer of this psalm focuses attention on encouragement, affirmation, celebration, and empathy for the circumstances of someone else. Having grown up in a Pentecostal-holiness church, I recall the power of sustained prayer on behalf of others. Intercessory prayer was often one of the longest times of the worship service. As a child, I often found this part of the service boring. As I grew older, I came to respect these fervent intercessory prayers, especially because I knew that the folks who were praying had more than enough needs in their life to just pray for themselves. In fact, one of the tests of genuine spirituality is the capacity to feel so deeply about the needs and opportunities in another person’s life that you are willing to bring them before God in prayer. The tradition has often called intercessory prayer the “prayers of the people.” One way that Good Neighbor Movement - the faith justice community I helped found and that curated this devotional - used to practice intercessory prayer in the context of social justice is through healing prayer walks. A small group of us would get up early on a Saturday morning to walk the streets of our urban working-class neighborhood to collect the “prayers of the people.” We’d meet people along the street, on their porches, in the gas station parking lot, and at front doors of homes. We’d greet them, share with them our prayer requests, ask for theirs, then if there was a palpable rapport, we’d invite them to pray with us right there on the spot. In the midst of this practice, we’d meet new folks, reconnected with folks we already knew in the neighborhood, and ultimately learned about the urgent needs and issues and joys of our neighbors. Our hearts were knit together, our attention turned to one another, and we were provided an occasion to move toward the work of healing and justice rooted first in releasing our circumstances before God and one another.

Reflection:

1. How are you impacted by praying for someone else?

2. How are you impacted by hearing someone’s prayer for you?

3. Who are 2-3 people that you can intentionally pray for today?

4. Who can you contact today to share a concern or joy that you invite them to pray for you about?

About the Author:

Rev. Brandon Wrencher (he/him) is a senior strategist and organizer, trainer, and consultant at the intersections of decolonizing church, contemplative activism, and community-building. Brandon is the author of: Liberating Church: A 21st Century Hush Harbor Manifesto (Wipf & Stock and The Voices Publishing, 2022), Buried Seeds: Learning from the Vibrant Resilience of Marginalized Christian Communities (Baker Academic, 2022), and “Our Cries for Equity” in The Other Journal: Authority (Cascade Books, 2021).

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These Black Lent devotionals were originally curated by IG: goodneighbormovement.